If you’ve read books on wealth creation by billionaires such as Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, Richard Branson and Warren Buffet, you may have wondered why their advice differs so greatly. What’s the answer?
Roger Hamilton, creator of Wealth Dynamics, has the answer. He says it’s because Trump is a Dealmaker, Kiyosaki a Lord, Branson a Creator and Buffet an Accumulator.
These are just four of the wealth profiles, or natural paths to wealth, that Roger identifies and describes in his book: Your Life, Your Legacy. Roger says: Success comes from knowing which game to play, and then playing only that game.
Eight different wealth profiles
Creator
Creators are great inventors and are excellent at starting projects, or companies, but not great at follow-through. Creators usually make more money from their projects when they step back and put good managers in place to take care of their creations, freeing themselves to be creative.
Examples of successful creators are Thomas Edison (General Electric), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Richard Branson (Virgin) and J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter).
Star
Stars love the limelight. Because Stars exude confidence and charisma, their wealth is created by making themselves the brand.
Think Oprah Winfrey (Harpo), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Governor of California), Martha Stewart (MS Living Omnimedia) and Paul Newman (Newman’s Own).
Supporter
The Supporter’s path to wealth lies in leading their teams. They are excellent networkers and make great CEOs. Supporters do best once they find a Creator who has set up the company they want to run, as they’re not great at starting it up themselves.
Famous Supporters are Jack Welch (General Electric), Steve Case (AOL Time Warner) and Meg Whitman (eBay).
Dealmaker
A dealmaker matches investors with investment opportunities. It’s interesting to note that a Star’s value grows as he or she becomes less accessible, while a Dealmaker’s value grows as he or she becomes more accessible.
Who can think “Dealmaker” and not have Donald Trump come to mind. Other high-profile dealmakers are Rupert Murdoch (News Media) and David Geffen (SKG DreamWorks).
Trader
Traders rely on timing as they create their wealth by buying and selling. While Dealmakers become immersed in the deal, Traders detach so that they can remain calm and calculated.
Traders we can learn from are George Soros (Quantum Fund), Peter Lynch (Fidelity) and Charles Merrill (Merrill Lynch).
Accumulator
As the name suggests, Accumulators create their wealth by accumulating appreciating assets. While Stars are quick to spend, Accumulators are quick to save. They rarely act on impulse, and will fail if they do not set out criteria for action.
Accumulators mentioned in Your Life, Your Legacy include Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway), Li Ka Shing (Cheung Kong Holdings) and JP Morgan (JP Morgan & Co).
Lord
Lords can squeeze cash flow from assets, without owning assets. Rockefeller became a billionaire in the oil industry without owning a single oil well. While extroverted Supporters value people over numbers, introverted Lords value numbers over people. Lords don’t have patience for niceties, love certainty and hate risk.
Lords are the quiet, reserved giants of industry, tycoons like John D Rockefeller (Standard Oil), Jean Paul Getty (Getty Oil), Andrew Carnegie (Carnegie Steel) and Sergey Brin (Google).
Mechanic
The Mechanic’s path to wealth is in creating systems that work. While Creators are good at starting things, Mechanics are best at finishing things. Mechanics are always asking how. Their forte is taking an existing business and finding ways to perfect it, franchise it or systematise it.
Just look at the stories of Henry Ford (Ford Motor Company), Ray Kroc (McDonald’s), Sam Walton (Wal-Mart) and Larry Page (Google) and others.
Source
Hamilton, Roger. 2000. Your life, your legacy: an entrepreneur guide to finding your flow. Achievers International.
(Revised by M van Deventer)